Monday Morning- aprox. 9:00 a.m.
Sabrina entered the classroom and was greeted by a buzz of whispers. "Look. There's Sabrina." one girl said.
" I heard that she and Ryou had a this weekend." whispered another.
" Look around her neck. What do you think she's hiding under that scarf?"
"Do you think maybe she and Ryou...?"
"No." Another girl interrupted, "Ryou's too much of a gentleman." Sabrina lifted her chin and pretended not to hear the girls. Let them think what they wanted. There was no way she was going to come to school with the bruises on her neck exposed. Thankfully, she had managed to cover up the bruise on her cheek with make-up, but the ones on her neck were darker and more severe than that one had been. Suddenly, she stopped and her breathing hitched. Her heart started to pound and she felt the medallion that hung around her neck get warm. Ryou sat at his desk with his nose buried in a book, but Sabrina could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't really reading. Taking a deep breath to calm her pounding heart she made her way down the row of desks to the one behind Yugi. Ryou glanced at her as she passed and her heart skipped a beat when he turned the page in his book, but, other than that, no communication was made. She sat down with a relieved sigh and got ready for class a Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Felix, and Tea' walked in.(A/N: Felix is a fancharacter created by my good friend Sailor Polaris. She's Duke's cousin) They all noticed her relocation and one look at Ryou told them that he still thought it was his fault.
The lunch bell rang at noon and everyone headed to the cafeteria. Ryou sat at his usual table and once again Sabrina avoided him and went to one of her own. Yugi and the others saw what was going on and decided to step in. They were saddened by their friends' avoiding each other the way they were. The three boys made for Ryou's table while Tea' and Felix headed for Sabrina's. "Hey, Sabrina." Tea' said.
"Hi, Tea'." Sabrina said softly.
"Can we sit here?"
"Sure." Tea' and Felix sat to Sabrina's right. Sabrina didn't even look at them. In fact, it looked like she wanted to cry.
"Yugi told me things didn't go very well with Ryou on Saturday." At that Sabrina nearly choked on her sandwich and looked at Tea' in heartbreak. "He also told me that you now about the Millenium Ring...and Bakura."
Sabrina swallowed her bite of sandwich and made to stand. "We shouldn't be talking about this." she said.
Tea' grabbed her by the wrist and she winced as Tea's grip struck the bruises she had hidden there. "You're right. WE shouldn't. You and Ryou should."
Sabrina looked back at Tea'. "What?"
"You and Ryou should be the one's talking about what happened."
Sabrina shook her head. "I...I can't."
"Why? Are you that scared?" Felix asked.
Sabrina sat back down. "I'm not just scared, you guys. I'm terrified. You don't know what happened. What Bakura did to me in that basement."
"You want to be with Ryou don't you?" said Felix.
"I'd give my life to be with Ryou, but that's what scares me. My life is what it might cost."
Felix shook her head. "Ryou wouldn't let anything happen to you. Not without a fight."
Sabrina looked down, still unsure. "You have to talk to him sometime." Tea' told her and stoo, Felix followed. "Friends don't just abandon each other when they're needed most." With that, they left. Sabrina sat contemplating their words. Tea' was right. Friends didn't abandon each other and that was exactly what she had done to Ryou.
Lunch ended and everyone filed back to class. Ryou made his way to his desk and once again picked up his book. Just as he started reading he heard someone sit in the desk in front of him and clear their throat. He lowered his book to see Sabrina gazing at him. "Sabrina!" At her name, the Millenium Ring started to glow. Sabrina gasped and bit her lip to keep from screaming. The memories were still to fresh in her mind for her to keep from shaking and Ryou saw the terror rise to her face. Sabrina glanced to her right and saw Yugi heading toward his seat. Ryou followed her gaze and upon seeing Yugi his ring ceased its glowing.
Sabrina stood. "I can't." she said, "I'm sorry I just can't." she started to head back to the seat she had occupied earlier, but Ryou reached out and caught her hand, careful to avoid the bruises on her wrists.
Sabrina." Sabrina jumped and her breath caught, but one look told her it was still Ryou. They stood there, staring at each other for what felt like forever.
Finally, Sabrina took a deep, calming breath and whispered to him. "Meet me after school; beside the flagpole." Ryou nodded and Sabrina gently pulled from his grasp. She returned to her seat just as the bell rang.
School ended and Sabrina gathered her supplies up slowly. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She was going to talk to Ryou, alone. This had to be the most terrifying experience she had ever had. Finally, she made her way out of the classroom and to the front of the school. There was Ryou, waiting at the flagpole, just as he had said he would be. Sabrina approached him slowly, wanting to give herself time to run for it if Ryou changed into Bakura. He stood from the concrete block when he saw her and immediately his ring started glowing again. Sabrina froze where she was and waited. She could have sworn that she felt her medallion get warm, but she put it off as her blood heating up as her body went into its fight or flight mode. (A/N: For those of you who didn't pay attention in Health class, Fight or Flight Mode is a state of being that your body goes into when you are in a very intense or frightening situation. Basically what happens is your addrenalin starts going as your body decides whether it's going to fight against what's scaring you or if its going to run.) After a few seconds though, the glow faded away. "Why does it kep doing that?" Sabrina asked Ryou.
"I don't know. He advanced like her was going to fight me for control, but then he just kinda...backed off."
Sabrina took that as a hint that it was safe. "Good because if I don't tell you what I need to now then I may never have the courage to do it again." she said while walking the rest of the distance between herself and Ryou. She stopped at arm's length and tried to look at Ryou's face, but her gaze remained locked on the Millenium Ring. Her heart started to pound faster than ever. Yugi had told her that Bakura was a good actor and often pretended to be Ryou. What if he was doing it now?
"Sabrina? Are you alright? I can take the ring off if it will help." At that, Sabrina's gaze shot to his. This was definately Ryou. There was no was Bakura would offer to remove the very thing that enabled him to retain control over Ryou.
Sabrina shook her head. "No. I need to face my fears." Ryou nodded and Sabrina took a deep breath. She couldn't figure out anything to do with her hands so she clasped them in front of her and started wringing them. "I'm sory about how I acted at Yugi's. I was scared and didn't want to believe that what I had seen was real...but that doesn't excuse my actions. I had no right to treat you the way I did. You deserver a chance to explain yourself and I wouldn't listen." She stopped and examined Ryou's reaction. So far he hadn't said anything and his expression remained that of someone who was listening. Sabrina took a shakey breath. Now came that hard part. "After you left, I stayed in Yugi's room for several hours...thinking about everything that had happened." she paused and closed her eyes. "I know now that you and Bakura are two seperate people. I know it wasn't you in that basement. You didn't do anything to me except be my firend and, if you'd like, I hope to become more than friends." At that, she opened her eyes once again to gauge Ryou's reaction.
He blinked in surprise. "You mean...you still want to be with me? Even though Bakura might...?
Sabrina nodded. "I know you won't let anything happen to me without warning me first." A smile graced Ryou's face. "But," Sabrina said, "I'm still getting used to the idea of there being two different personalities in you, so it'll probably be a while before I'm comfortable going to your house again." Ryou nodded in understanding. "Also," she continued, "I want to know everything. How you got the ring, the first time you found out about Bakura, everything. No more secrets." Again, Ryou nodded. Sabrina nodded once and then turned her back to Ryou. She took one step and then stopped. "Hey, Ryou." she called and looked over her shoulder. "Would you like to walk me home?" The smile Ryou gave her was blinding as he looped his arm in hers.
A/N: Well, things are starting to look up for Ryou and Sabrina, but why does Bakura keep backing off from getting Sabrina when he has the chance? You'll have to wait and find out.